“A blistering plot and crisp writing make The Night Swim an unputdownable read.” –Sarah Pekkanen, bestselling author of The Wife Between UsIn The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the “gripping and unforgettable” (Harlan Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime … into a small town’s dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before.
Ever since her true-crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become a household name—and the last hope for people seeking justice. But she’s used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The new season of Rachel’s podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?
more
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin was a funny one for me. I started with the physical copy as a buddy read, but it didn’t grab me right away, so I decided to wait and listen to the audiobook instead. And what do you know, it became a 5-star read for me! The audio is SO well done, with 3 different narrators that all did such an incredible job. I think it has a slower start and I just needed to hang in there a little bit longer since once I started the audio (from where I had left off in the physical copy), I couldn’t put it down and listened to it all in one sitting. The narrators are Bailey Carr as Hannah, January LaVoy voicing the podcast, and Samantha Desz as Rachel, or at least that is what I think… Feel free to correct me if that is wrong! Either way, if you are a fan of any or all of them, or a fan of podcasts, the audio is going to be for you!
I also read The Escape Room and absolutely loved it, but The Night Swim is a very different book than that was. I wouldn’t go in expecting a thriller, but more of a suspenseful drama with a legal aspect. Parts of it were really hard for me and if rape is a trigger for you in the slightest it will be hard for you as well. I felt so incredibly awful for some of the characters and I thought Goldin did such an amazing job of making this book realistic as far as rape culture and how rape victims are treated. Which is probably the reason this book hits you so hard.
Goldin was an immediate autobuy author for me and I’m so glad that after the slow start, The Night Swim was able to pull me in and hold my attention for the rest of the book. The end was also pretty shocking and there is one point I actually gasped out loud. I love when an author can do that, and this is part of the reason I will continue to read everything she writes. I can’t wait to see what her next book will be because you know I will want it!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
The Night Swim is being promoted as a thriller, but I would label this one a mystery. It’s not a fast-paced, edge of your seat kind of book. It’s more of a slow reveal, “who-done-it.” Which actually works better for this story.
I read Goldin’s previous book, The Escape Room, and enjoyed it, so when I saw The Night Swim, I requested it right away. I couldn’t resist the premise of a podcast host that covers crimes. This story is told from two third-person point of views: Rachel’s and Hannah’s. Rachel is the host of the podcast and Hannah is a fan. Hannah has been reaching out to Rachel to ask for her help in solving the rape and murder of her sister twenty-five years ago in Neopolis, where Rachel is currently headed to cover–for her third season of the podcast–the trial of the town’s star athlete accused of rape. Hannah slowly tells her sister’s story through letters and emails she sends to Rachel throughout the trial, and the two stories mirror each other, weaving in the past and present.
The author does a superb job handling such a delicate subject. She highlights the unbalanced handling of sexual assault and rape cases, how the burden of proof is placed on the victim. How the victim is subjected repeatedly to reliving their experience, and therefore traumatized even after the assault. It’s a flaw in our judicial system, and I appreciated the attention she brought to it.
My favorite parts of the book are the trial scenes. I respected Rachel’s thoughts throughout, her assessments of the lawyers, the witnesses, the jury. She made observations that I’d never thought about.
While I had most of the plot figured out by the ending, I still appreciated the delivery. There were a few things that I found unbelievable and that took me out of the story, but I was able to look past it for the most part. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one becomes a series. It was a great summer read, and I look forward to more from Megan Goldin.
I had really high expectations for this one so I was just a teensy tiny little bit disappointed – I don’t think it was worth quite the amount of hype. I feel like some twists were pretty obvious but either way I was glued and it was very addicting to read. I think any fans of Crime Junkie/True Crime would enjoy.
***The main character, Rachel, is covering a rape trial throughout this book and I think it might be hard for some to read***
THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin wasn’t what I expected. Then, again, I am not sure what I expected, but what I got was so much more intense and emotional than I could have imagined. Once I started reading, it was impossible to walk away for any reason.
Rachel Krall has two seasons of a successful podcast under her belt, including finding evidence that exonerates someone that had been found guilty. She decides that for her newest season, she needs to do something different. She heads to a small town divided over a rape case. She will do her own investigating, sit in on the trial, report the facts, and let her audience make the call. When letters asking for her help finding out who killed the writer’s sister years ago, Rachel’s first spooked, then intrigued, especially when the writer connects her sister’s case to the current one. Was her sister murdered?
It by turns creeped me out…. Rachel was a voice on a podcast, with no good, recent pictures, yet someone was able to track her down and leave notes for her. I could see where some could happen, but others? More often than not, it ripped out my heart with the circumstances and the incidents. It also kept me twisting and guessing as I tried to figure out the past and how it translated to the present case.
The subject of the novel is tough and horrific, but Goldin crafted a tale so nuanced that you will keep reading, puzzling over the details in the back of your brain, as you speed to the conclusion without realizing how much time has passed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
#thenightswim #megangoldin #stmartinspress
I was surprised by this book. I wondered how Megan Goldin would write about a current rape and something that happened 25 years ago. She wrote it in the form of a trial and a podcast.
Rachel has a podcast called: Guilty or Not Guilty.
For her 3rd season, she has found the perfect case. A rape case in the coast town of Neoplis.
K is a 16 year old accusing a raising swim star as her rapist. The town of Neoplis is divided between rather she asked for it or not. Scott Blair is the accused. The favorite son of the town, on his way to becoming maybe the best swimmer of all time.
Hannah Stills is the younger sister of Jenny Stills that died in Neoplis 25 years ago. Hannah was to bring the truth to light with Rachel’s help.
This book has strong content as it deals with rape. It took me a while to read it just bc of the heavy content. I enjoyed it and think that it was well written. I liked how Goldin wrote the chapters, using Hannah as the way to the past crime. The chapters weren’t long and drawn out. You weren’t bogged down by a lot of legal stuff during the course of the trail. I recommend it, but think it should be for mature audiences only.
Thanks to Goodreads for the book.
“The Night Swim” is a tale of social media, obsession, and murder. Rachel Krall is a crime beat journalist covering a rape trial for her “Guilty or Not Guilty” podcast. She finds a note on her car window; Jenny tragically died when she was just sixteen. This is both a tip for a future podcast and a desperate request for help. Events are documented day by day as Rachael does background investigation, observes trial proceedings, and follows this lead for a new potential story. Transcripts of the podcast detailing the trial are interspersed with chapters detailing Rachael’s investigations, experiences, actions, and reactions in addition to a first person narrative from Hannah, Jenny’s sister, telling her side of the story.
The trial is complex and controversial, just the thing to spark conversations and arguments. A young man’s good name and reputation have been dragged through the mud, and yet the teenage girl who made the accusations is equally traumatized. Why make false accusations knowing the devastating consequences for all involved? A social media frenzy surrounds the trial, and ordinary things are far from ordinary. Politeness and etiquette do not apply in the virtual world, and scathing comments are posted about all involved. People say things online they would never say to someone’s face. The situation becomes a crowdsourcing of justice, almost an online poll to decide innocence and guilt, without regard to the jury system or the law.
As Rachel continues her coverage and investigation, readers find the stories intertwine, two stories, two girls, twenty-five years apart. The stories are separate, detached, and different, but somehow parallel, similar, and related. Both had drawn Rachael to the same city.
“The Night Swim” seeks justice for diverse participants. I received a review copy of “The Night Swim” from Megan Goldin and St. Martin’s Press. It is compelling and thought provoking.
The Night Swim
By Megan Goldin
Megan Goldin became a favorite author for me since reading The Escape Room last year. So when I heard about Goldin’s new release, The Night Swim immediately became my most anticipated read for this summer, and it was amazing.
The story is centered around Rachel Krall, a true crime podcast host who has a huge boost in following since her investigative work proved one man’s innocence. As popular as she is, she is only known for her voice, so when all of a sudden, she starts receiving notes (in her car, in the hotel room) asking her to investigate this woman’s older sister’s death from twenty five years ago, this leaves Rachel very unsettled. Rachel is covering a rape trial for her podcast in a small town called Neapolis, where an Olympic hopeful swimmer is being accused of raping a local high school student. As Rachel covers the rape trial, she finds herself weaved into the mysterious death of Jenny Stiles in the same town. As she investigates and interviews people in town, she slowly unravels the truth that her death is probably not an accident as the family had been led to believe. How the stories weaved seamlessly was Goldin’s brilliance in storytelling.
The podcast, the courtroom scenes and the multiple investigations were incredibly well written and so well done. The writing and the plotting was brilliant, and made this a compulsive read that I cannot put down.
* If you have an opportunity to listen to this in audio, I highly recommend it – it’s just simply fabulous. The narration is perfect! Another thing is that the way the podcast portion of the story was told was really incredible on audio. You have to listen to it.
This was a very emotional and intense read for me personally. The subject of rape is one that needs to be discussed more freely than it is currently. This book touches on two separate instances of rape. It was very well written and the characters were very well defined. If you are looking for an electrifying and propulsive read…this is it and I highly recommend.
I don’t often read books that deal with heavy topics, and now I remember why. They are a downer. I don’t like to be down. The synopsis of The Night Swim sounded interesting. I come from a family of swimmers, so I was intrigued to read about an Olympic hopeful on trial for rape.
The book was written in a detached style that seemed more like journalism than storytelling. I thought the mystery of the unsolved murder was going to be full of twists and turns, but it was pretty predictable. The characters were hard to relate to, especially the main character, who was lackluster.
I thought the podcast angle would be interesting, but sadly it wasn’t enough to save this novel.
Wow what a page turner. I thought I figured it out but the ending made me wrong. Not a great subject matter but Megan Goldin kept you reading the book to see what happens between the two stories being told.
I liked the way the crimes were revealed. it was never direct, always under another layer or two. I was glued to the pages till near the end. At the end it seemed like a cartoonish wrap up, everything fell into place too perfectly. I was also so frustrated with the Rachel and Hannah characters, One took so many chances one was just ridiculous with the letters and the distancing. It felt like such a let down after all the drama and waiting.
I’m not sure if I’d read more from this author her style may just not be for me
#NetGalley #The Night Swim #St. Martin’s Press
Rachel Krall is known for her Podcast “Guilty or Not Guilty”. The current season of the Podcast Rachel goes to a small North Carolina town to cover a rape trial. The victim is a sixteen year old girl, the defendant is a college student with dreams of becoming a Olympic swimmer.
While she is in town covering the trial she begins receiving letters from someone named Hannah. Hannah claims that her sister was murdered 25 years earlier. Jenny’s official cause death was listed as accidental drowning.
Rachel investigates both cases hoping for justice for both victims. This is a very well written story that grabs your attention from page one. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and has a few shocking surprises.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a big of Goldin’s debut novel, The Escape Room because it was was just too over the top for me (I know a lot of people loved it, so definitely read it if you get a chance). That being said, I thought the The Night Swim was absolutely fantastic.
Rachel Krall runs an incredibly successful true crime podcast. For season three, she has chosen to follow the investigation of a rape trial in the small town of Neapolis. In this case, the all-star swim athlete is accused of raping the granddaughter of the local police chief. While trying to focus on the investigation, Rachel keeps receiving mysterious letters asking for her help in investigating a case that happened in Neapolis 25 years prior. The death of Jenny Stills was ruled as an accidental drowning but the person writing the letters insists that Jenny was murdered. To make matters worse, as Rachel starts asking the people of Neapolis questions, no one wants to talk. So what really happened to Jenny? And will the granddaughter get justice or will her rapist walk free?
First and foremost, if rape is at all triggering to you, you will most definitely have a difficult time reading this one as you do get flashbacks to when the rapes take place. While I think that this is something that the author handles with grace, she does not shy away from the details.
When it comes to stories that feature alternative formats such as epistolary and podcasts, I find that they make for better audiobooks especially when you have multiple cast members like you do in The Night Swim. I thought that both Hannah’s letters and Rachel’s podcast cohesively blended into the story and enhanced it rather than detracted.
As far as characters go, I absolutely loved Rachel. Rachel has to ask tough questions as she follows both the rape trial as well as investigates the death of Jenny Stills, but she never backs down from possible leads even when she knows that that they could potentially put her life in danger. She is gritty, fierce, and determined to get justice even if who we think the victim is may not be the case. She is always on the side of truth.
From start to finish, the plot is propulsive. I was immediately sucked into the horrifying rape trial as well as the story of Jenny Stills. Both of them are raw, honest, and utterly heartbreaking. I definitely had moments during the rape trial when I just wanted to stop because I felt like I was being ripped in half by the sheer injustice of the so called justice system. I was angry but also not surprised.
This is one of those books that really walks that fine line of fiction and nonfiction. All of the events within the courtroom and the way society treated both the rape victim and Jenny Stills is EXACTLY what plays in society. Some people will say parts of this book were predictable and this wasn’t a true thriller. I don’t disagree, but I also think the author was trying to achieve something more than your standard thriller, she a damn good job doing so.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced listening copy through NetGalley. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
Double the suspense and action in Megan Goldin’s suspenseful thriller, “The Night Swim. The story follows the course of an intense and controversial rape trial. At the same time, Rachel is conducting an off-the-record investigation into a drowning, declared accidental. Two cases in the same town, years apart, with similar details.
Rachel is a popular podcaster covering an active trial for the first time. She plans on this season being her most discussed and best yet.
“Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts you in the jury box.”
Her off-the-record investigation is prompted after she finds a mysterious letter on her windshield, begging her to dig into the 25-year-old drowning and reveal the truth. This secretive aspect added so much tension to this page-turner!
The podcast chapters, which were transcripts, were so entertaining…fantastic writing, fast-paced and hard-to-put-down. I’m one of the few that hasn’t read Ms. Goldin’s previous novel, “The Escape Room”, and now I can’t wait to get a copy!
Thank you to Edelweiss, Megan Goldin and St. Martin’s Press, for this free digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
Another incredible group read with No Rules – Just Thrills!
My Rating: 5 ’s
Published: August 4th 2020 by St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 352
Recommend: Yes
@megangoldin @StMartinsPress @weiss_squad
#NoRulesJustThrills #InExchangeForReview
#TheNightSwim #MustRead #BookReview
After publication, my reviews can be found:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AFWS5Q63ZHOHGTHHCWSA7TFIZLRA?preview=true
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/takemeaway21
BN.com, BookBub
The Night Swim tackles rape and the stigma attached. This story is heartbreaking. I felt angry and vulnerable as I read this book. The two rapes twenty years apart are at the center of this story. Rachel Krall comes to Neapolis to report on the rape trial of Scott Blair. He’s accused of raping a high school student. The town is in turmoil over the case. Some blame the victim and some the defendant. What is the truth? I don’t usually read books that focus on rape, but Megan Goldin’s writing pulled me in. The mysterious death of Jenny was told in bits and pieces by her heartbroken sister. I couldn’t put this book down until I knew what really happened. I wanted justice for Jenny. I doubted that would happen. Power triumphs over truth. When I finished The Night Swim I felt emotionally drained. I had my answers but there was no reason for celebration.
I received a copy of this book which I voluntarily read and reviewed. My comments are my honest opinion.
I just finished The Night Swim by Megan Goldin. I stepped outside my usual genre of historical fiction and learned that I like legal thrillers. This one was very well written. I kept my interest from the first page and I didn’t see that twist coming! A super fast read, too. 4/5 for me.
My Rating: .5
Content Rating: 18+
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery
Published: August 4, 2020, by St. Martin’s Press
Megan Goldin has hit the mark again with her new book The Night Swim. After reading her previous book, The Escape Room, I knew I had to read her latest book. The Night Swim is a twisty suspenseful story spanning twenty-five years, with two dueling narrators. The first narrator is telling her sister’s compelling horrific story the other reporting on an equally sad story. Throw in some courtroom drama, a gripping podcast, and a few disturbing mysterious letters, and you have the makings of a book that will keep you glued to its pages.
In The Night Swim, Goldin tackles an age-old issue that societies have been struggling to deal with, rape, and I commend Goldin for taking on this issue. I feel she does an excellent job of showing both sides in this book, without letting us forget how important it is to believe women without the victim-blaming and shaming that many times is sometimes associated with rape cases.
“It’s a calculation women make all the time…Women, girls, we make these decisions all the time. Convenience versus safety.
Most of the time things work out fine.
Occasionally something terrible happens.”
The story seems relatively straightforward. Rachel Krall’s very successful true-crime podcast, Guilty or Not Guilty, leads her to the small town of Neapolis in North Carolina, where for the first time, she is not covering a murder trial, but a rape trial. Even though Rachel Krall is a strong, intelligent woman with a tenacious sense of right and wrong, I liked how the author had her go through a trek of self-discovery of how difficult it is for women to speak up when they have been a victim of rape. Rachel is a newswoman who seeks the truth no matter who it may anger or where it leads her.
“The prosecution needs to prove that the victim did not consent. That’s tough when it’s “his” word against “her” word.”
“The trauma of testifying is one of the main reasons why so many rape victims opt not to testify and why so many rapes are never prosecuted.”
“I’m Rachel Krall and this is Guilty or Not Guilty, the podcast that puts you in the jury box.”
The accused, the town’s golden boy, is on trial for allegedly raping the police chief’s granddaughter. There are lots and lots of secrets in this small town, and not all are what it seems. When Rachel starts receiving letters, in very unusual ways, that describe a murder that happened twenty-five years ago, things become even more complicated. Rachel soon begins to wonder if these two crimes are somehow related to one another. But that’s all I will say about that.
The Night Swim is a fast-paced well-written book that kept me reading and kept me guessing to the very end. With her compelling writing style, Goldin makes this book relatable and thought-provoking. She addresses the subject of rape with care and sensitivity. The characters are complex, believable, and endearing, which enhances the story and makes it unputdownable. I highly recommend this book if you like memorable characters and a story that will keep you on your toes.
* Please note the quotes in my review are subject to change once the book is published. *
** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Megan Goldin. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. **
The Night Swim was an extremely heavy, emotional, and POWERFUL read for me and it’s going to stay with me for a very long time.
I don’t like to tell too much about the plot of a book since I have a lot of followers who, like me, choose to know as little as possible about a book before reading it; however, this one needs a little info for some cw: this is about two rapes that take place 25 years apart. The author, Megan Goldin, does an amazing job of enlightening her readers at just how much rape victims have to endure: the rape kit is in itself traumatizing, then there’s the victim shaming, and the unbelievably ruthless court tactics. Goldin manages to do all this, and make you feel so much, all while handling this topic with the sensitivity that’s needed and appreciated. This kind of book, and the two stories that unfold in it, need to be told so people understand what the victims go through.
This story is told from multiple POVs and alternating timelines. While it is absolutely intense, I also found myself not being able to put it down. I had to know how this one ended. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes psychological thrillers, and to anyone who is willing to read a book to get some insight on what rape victims have to endure. If you have a hard time with sexual abuse topics, then I’d definitely pass on this one.
Many thanks to @Netgalley and @Stmartinspress for the e-galley and opportunity to share my thoughts.
This is a wow story. I could not put this down. It was sometimes difficult to read because of the talk about rape. This story handles what happens from the rape to the trial. It can be hard to read about. I love how there are really two cases in this town. One is from the present and the other from the past. There are great characters throughout. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press fir a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Thank you @stmartinspress for this amazing book.
The Night Swim by @megangoldin author was another fantastic thriller read. I was lucky enough to have a digital ARC from @this_is_edelweiss and of course I had to have a finished copy for the buddy read with @letsreadrantandrepeat coming up, because, well, I just really like the smell of new books, ok? I have a problem, I know, ok?
I devoured Megans novel The Escape Room so I had high hopes for this one and it didn’t disappoint. The Night Swim is about a popular true-crime podcaster Rachel Krall starting her third season with a controversial trial in a small town. As she arrives in the town prior to the trials start, Rachel recieves a random note on her car windshield begging her for help on a past case that occurred in the same town years ago. Throwing herself into her current podcast, the random letters keep coming, and with the creepy factor of someone following her, on top of the story surrounding the past case intrigues Rachel enough to start asking questions. When she discovers information connecting the past case and the current trial, Rachel unearths a revelation that will change the current trial and the lives of everyone involved.
This is a true page turning thriller. I really enjoyed the premise being set around a podcast, and the dual cases kept me on my toes. There is just enough characters to keep you confused on who is guilty, with enough side stories to keep you engaged. I had so many different theories with each page turn on what happened that I finally just gave up on trying to solve it myself and read straight though. I have to say that for me it was more of a mystery thriller and not a psychological thriller, but that is just my own personal categorization. Regardless, Megan kept me intrigued and invested, and like I said before, The Night Swim was another fantastic thriller read. Perfect for those last minute summer vacations to the beach, I highly recommend this one.
Megan Goldin has certainly made a name for herself in the thriller genre.